The invention relates to a watermill for generating electrical energy from a flow of waste water running through an underground waste-water conduit.
It is well known to generate electricity through a flow of water generated by the gravitational force acting on the water. Usually, large structures are built for the specific purpose of generating hydro power, e.g. conventional or run-of-the-river hydroelectric power stations, which requires large dams to function, and tidal power station, which require elaborate support structures in or on the water. These techniques require large and costly installations to generate a water flow and/or to position station in a flow, in particular if the generation of the electricity is to be efficient.
In many urban environments there are already installations that generate a flow of water, in particular waste water, in the form of underground waste-water conduits, e.g. storm drains and sewers. It is known to generate electrical energy from waste-water in underground conduits, e.g., see BE1017699A6. However, the known techniques do not efficiently convert a flow of waste-water to electrical energy. It is therefore an object of the present invention to efficiently and safely generate electrical energy from the flow of waste-water in an urban environment. It is a further object to provide a low cost water-mill that can be integrated in conventional underground waste-water systems.